THE CASSIQUES AND HANGNESTS 



1533 



taking wing he flies straight away, close to the surface, fluttering like a moth, and 

 at a distance of twenty to thirty yards turns and flies in a wide circle round the 

 female, singing loudly all the time, hedging her in with melody as it were." 



The bill in this genus is about as long as the head, stout at the 



" _ base, and tapering rapidly to an acute point; while the wings are 



ling etc pointed, and the tail broad. Black associated with red or yellow 



is the predominating color of the male birds, but the females 



are more soberly attired. Several species are found in Central and Southern 



America, while others are peculiar to the United States. The type of the genus is the 



red-shouldered starling (Agel&us phceniceus}> a bird commonly distributed through- 



RED SHOULDERED STARRING. 

 (Five-eighths natural size.) 



out temperate North America, and especially abundant among the marshy tracts of 

 the Eastern States. It nests in reeds and bushes near the ground or in a tussock of 

 grass, building a bulky nest of coarse fibrous materials, such as strips of rushes or 

 marsh grass. The eggs are pale blue, dotted and blotched with dark markings. In 

 autumn this bird becomes highly gregarious, thronging in the grainfields, where it 

 does much mischief. The male is lustrous black, with the lesser wing coverts 

 scarlet, broadly bordered with brownish yellow; while the female is blackish brown 

 above with pale streaks, and below whitish with many dusky streaks. The young 

 male bird at first resembles the female, but is larger, and generally suffused with 

 buff. 



